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i 


e  Three  Archangels  and  the 
Guardian  Angels  in  Art 


RAPHAEL 

SAINT  MICHAEL  — THE  LOUVRE 


'^hdj^fmtQ,  Archangels 
and  the  Guardian 
Angels  in  Art 

BY 

ELIZA  ALLEN  STARR 


Bless  the  Lord,  all  ye  His  angels 

PSALMS  102 — 20 


CHICAGO 
PUBLISHED  BY  THE  AUTHOR 


Copyright  1899 
By  ELIZA  ALLEN  STARR 
Chicago 


TO  MY  OWN 

GUARDIAN  ANGEL 

AS  THE  REPRESENTATIVE  OF  THE  NINE  BLISSFUL 
CHOIRS,  WITH  ALL  REVERENCE 
AS  WELL  AS  GRATITUDE,  THIS  LITTLE 
BOOK  IS  DEDICATED 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 

SAINT  MICHAEL,  17 

SAINT  GABRIEL  33 

SAINT  RAPHAEL,  49 

THE  GUARDIAN  ANGELS,       ...  63 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


SAINT  MICHAEL,  F2^«^/?/^,  ....  FraAngelico 
SAINT  MICHAEL,  Frontzs^zece,  .      .      .  Raphael 

SAINT  MICHAEL,  t'n  the  Assumptzon,  .  .  .  Perugino 
SAINT  MICHAEL,  a  detail  from  the  Assumption  Perugino 
SPHW^  QA^^EAu,  in  the  Annunciation,  .  .  Catacomb 
S  AINU  GA^^Y.'Ly  in  the  Annunciation,  .  .  FraAngelico 
SAINT  GABRIEL,  in  the  Annunciation,  .  Della  Robbia 
SAINT  GABRIEL,  in  the  Agony,  .  .  .  Overbeck 
saint:  ^AVUKEl.,  the  Angel  of  Healing,    .      .  Perugino 

SAINT  RAPHAEL  and  Tobias,  LuiNi 

SAINT  RAPHAEL  and  Tobias,  .  .  .  Von  Deutsch 
SAINT  RAPHAEL  and  Tobias,  •  .  .  .  Overbeck 
SAINT  RAPHAEL,  Prince  of  Guardians,  .      .  Raphael 

SAINT  JOHN  OF  GOD,  Murillo 

SAINT  FRANCES  OF  ROME,       ....  Ittenbach 

GUARDIAN  ANGEL,   Mintrop 

GUARDIAN  ANGELS,  in  the  Resurrection,      Fra  Angelico 


Preface 


The  devotion  to  the  Holy  Angels  —  that 
hierarchy,  with  its  nine  glorious  choirs  dis- 
tinctly named  in  Holy  Writ — of  which  so 
many  masterpieces  of  art  are  magnificent 
exponents,  is  nourished  as  a  household  virtue 
by  the  lovely  Sodality  of  the  Guardian  An- 
gels, by  which  our  youths  and  maidens  are 
initiated  into  the  spirit  of  more  advanced 
devotion  and  practices.  Their  Guardian 
Angels  lead  them  into  the  ranks  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  preparing  them  to  be 
her  leal  knights  or  her  faithful  daughters; 
onward  to  the  still  more  interior,  meditative 
devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart,  with  its  ex- 
positions of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  its  repara- 
tions to  the  wounded  yet  ever  most-loving 
Heart  of  our  Lord;  the  rose-tinted  ribbon  of 
the  Guardian  Angel's  medal  preceding  the 
azure  of  the  Virgin  Mother's,  the  crimson 
of  the  Passion  of  the  world's  Redeemer. 
II 


Preface 


Still,  the  devotion  to  the  Guardian  Angel 
is  not  merely  an  initiatory  one ;  if  intelligent 
it  must  be  lifelong,  this  Guardian  Angel 
being  no  myth,  no  phantom,  but  a  living, 
ever-present  reality,  walking  with  us  whether 
in  crowds  or  in  deserts,  the  adviser  as  well 
as  the  protector  and  friend,  with  whom  we 
have  daily,  hourly,  a  more  conscious  inti- 
macy, a  more  confidential  intercourse. 

Moreover,  the  simplicity  of  trust  in  the 
child  for  its  own  individual  Guardian  Angel 
is  to  be  supplemented  by  knowledge  such  as 
comes  from  a  familiarity  with  traditions 
world-wide,  and  stretching  backward  into 
prehistoric  ages,  concerning  the  part  which 
the  angels,  in  the  several  orders  of  their  hier- 
archy, have  borne  in  the  story  of  the  world, 
of  the  universe  itself.  Dionysius  the  Areo- 
pagite,  of  the  first  Christian  century,  wrote 
learnedly  as  well  as  devoutly  of  the  angels, 
and  they  have  entered  into  the  studies  of  the 
most  exact  theologians  in  ages  which  have 
nourished  a  supernatural  as  well  as  a  scien- 
tific erudition.  Woven  and  interwoven  as 
the  ministrations  of  angels  have  been  with 


Preface 


events  in  the  world's  history,  their  super- 
natural but  clearly  recognized  intervention 
in  this  real,  actual  story  surpasses  any  which 
even  a  Homer  could  recount;  the  records  of 
the  messengers  from  Olympus  paling  before 
the  angelic  deliverances  wrought,  as  in  the 
case  of  Heliodorus,  of  the  Maccabees,  and  as 
related  by  Saint  Luke,  evangelist,  in  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  of  the  deliverance  of  Saint 
Peter  from  prison,  whose  chains,  which 
dropped  from  his  hands  and  feet  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  angel,  still  witness,  in  the  ancient 
church  of  San  Pietro  in  Vincoli^  Rome,  to 
the  verity  of  the  rescue. 

What  wonder  if  art  laid  hold  of  these  in- 
spiring traditions,  these  glorious  narrations, 
enriching  the  ages  by  representations  quick- 
ening spiritual  perception,  displaying  so  win- 
ningly,  yet  powerfully,  the  spiritual  organ- 
ism of  a  world,  fallen  indeed  from  its  original 
innocence,  but  dignified  immeasurably  by 
the  fact  of  Redemption;  by  the  actual  life, 
on  this  earth,  of  Him  who  was,  verily,  "the 
Word  made  flesh  and  dwelling  among  us"; 
the  Incarnation,  in  itself,  surpassing  all  that 
13 


Preface 


can  be  said  or  imagined  of  angelic  interven- 
tion. 

The  motive  underlying  the  writing  of 
these  pages,  we  trust,  will  be  apparent  to  all 
who  peruse  them.  They  were  prepared  for 
the  columns  of  the  Ave  Maria^  in  which 
they  appeared  during  October,  the  month  in 
which  the  angels  are  specially  honored ;  and 
it  is  by  the  courtesy  of  the  editor  of  the  Ave 
Maria^  Rev.  Daniel  E.  Hudson,  C.  S.  C, 
that  we  are  permitted  to  publish  them  in 
their  present  form.  The  reproductions  of 
those  great  masterpieces  which  have  done  so 
much  to  make  heaven  a  reality  to  us,  which 
are  now  given  along  with  the  text,  we  hope 
will  be  considered  not  merely  as  embellish- 
ments to  this  little  volume,  but  as  a  means  to 
plant,  as  it  were,  the  images  of  these  celestial 
friends  in  the  memories  and  imaginations  of 
all  who  thus  become  familiar  with  them, 
illuminating  not  only  the  morning  hour  of 
meditation  to  the  recluse  in  her  stall,  but 
weaving  themselves  into  the  thoughts  of  the 
woman  of  the  world  intent  upon  her  domes- 
tic or  social  round,  and  even  of  the  man  of 


Preface 


business,  whose  energies  may  seem  to  be 
directed  only  to  the  material  things  of  this 
world,  but  whose  thoughts  are  free  to  soar; 
soar  to  those  empyrean  heights  for  which,  as 
immortal  beings,  we  are  born,  and  from 
which,  in  answer  to  our  fervent  ejaculation, 
may  come  help  for  the  present  trouble,  the 
dire  emergency.  To  the  uplifting  of  this 
daily  life  of  mundane  necessities,  these  pages 
and  their  angelic  embellishments  are  de- 
voutly consecrated. 

Saint  Joseph's  Cottage,  Michaelmas,  1899. 


15 


PERUGINO 


SAINT  MICHAEL  IN  THE  ASSUMPTION 


Saint  Michael 


Resplendent  intelligences,  magnificent  ex- 
ponents of  the  infinite  wisdom,  power,  and 
beauty  of  God;  spiritual  bodies,  immortal, 
impassible,  moving  with  a  swiftness  trans- 
cending that  of  light ;  abiding  in  the  immedi- 
.ate  presence  of  God  and  radiant  with  the 
splendors  shed  over  them  by  the  Beatific 
Vision ! 

Such  were  the  angels  before  the  morning- 
stars  sang  together,  the  first  creative  act  of 
the  Triune  Godhead;  created  as  an  over- 
flow, a  blissful  necessity,  so  to  speak,  of  the 
essential  beatitude  of  this  Trinal  Unity.  One 
moment  of  the  silence  born  of  awe — then 
the  full  burst  of  praise,  thanksgiving,  adora- 
tion, from  Archangels,  Seraphim,  Cherubim, 
Powers,  Principalities ;  rank  on  rank,  file  on 
file,  group  weaving  into  group;  hosannas 
mingling  with  alleluias,  and  the  infinite 
17 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


sweetness  of  harmonious  sounds  has  been 
born  in  heaven! 

To  wing  our  thoughts  for  that  epoch  of 
creation  when  the  angels  stood  forth  thus  in 
their  plenitude  of  supernatural  gifts  to  the 
eyes  of  the  exultant  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost,  is  to  touch  a  point  not,  indeed,  in- 
finitely distant,  although  not  to  be  compre- 
hended by  the  mortal  intellect;  but  where 
the  imagination  of  a  Fra  Angelico  poised 
itself  to  contemplate  an  empyrean  of  bliss 
through  which  floated,  more  lightly  than  any 
wreath  of  vapor  over  our  bluest  welkin,  the 
newly-created  inhabitants  of  heaven;  giving 
us,  as  nothing  else  can,  a  perception  of  the 
essential  joy  of  existence,  and  that  existence 
not  only  emanating  from  God,  but  finding 
its  supreme  bliss,  its  sole  end  and  aim,  in 
God  Himself. 

But  what  means  this  trumpet-call  from 
the  ranks  of  these  blessed  ones, — a  blast  of 
defiance,  as  if  there  could  be  discord  in 
heaven  ?  And,  lo !  Lucifer,  son  of  the  morn- 
ing, the  most  resplendent  in  all  those  ranks 
of  shining  ones,  his  place  nearest  to  the 
i8 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


Beatific  Vision,  its  rainbows  breaking  over 
his  wings,  stands  forth  in  open  rebellion  to 
his  Maker,  drawing  with  him  a  third  part  of 
the  host  of  heaven.  But  that  trumpet-blast 
is  answered  by  a  battle-cry :  "  Who  is  like 
God?  And  Michael,  next  in  beauty,  next 
in  majesty,  leads  his  host  against  Lucifer,  and 
Saint  John  tells  us,  in  his  Apocalypse,  there 
was  a  great  battle  in  heaven :  Michael  and 
his  angels  fought  with  Lucifer  and  his  angels ; 
but  these  last  prevailed  not,  neither  was  their 
place  found  any  more  in  heaven."  Lucifer 
was  cast  forth,  and  with  him  his  angels ;  and 
hell  sprang  into  being  by  the  same  creative 
word  which  had  called  forth,  to  bliss,  the 
angelic  hosts ;  while,  as  a  reward  for  their 
fidelity,  Michael  and  his  angels,  having  used 
their  free-will  on  the  side  of  God,  were  con- 
firmed by  Him  in  their  perfection,  to  be 
thenceforth  incapable  of  sin. 

While  nothing  of  all  this  is  narrated  in  the 
Old  Testament,  the  allusions  in  the  Epistle 
of  Saint  Jude  to  what  must  have  been  living 
traditions  with  the  Hebrews,  mingled  with 
the  narrative  in  the  Apocalypse  of  Saint 
19 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


John,  give  us  the  tragedy  enacted  in  heaven 
itself  before  the  foundations  of  the  earth  and 
the  world  were  laid;  and  from  this  point  in 
the  story  of  the  universe  begins  that  of  Saint 
Michael,  prince  of  the  archangels  and  con- 
queror of  Lucifer  himself. 

The  first  mention  made  in  the  sacred 
Scriptures  of  the  angels,  tells  us  that  God 
"  set  Cherubim  before  the  gate  of  the  Garden 
of  Eden  with  a  flaming  sword,  turning  every 
way,  to  keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life." 
From  this  time  we  read  of  angels  as  the 
companions  of  patriarchs,  as  the  special 
friends  of  the  good,  as  the  special  instruments 
of  retribution  for  the  wicked.  The  Hebrews, 
however,  while  believing  in  the  angels  as 
personal  guardians  and  avengers,  regarded 
one  as  the  appointed  protector  of  their  nation 
and  of  their  religion,  named  the  Prince,  ap- 
pearing to  Abraham  at  the  door  of  his  tent 
at  Mamre,  promising  to  him  a  posterity  like 
the  stars  in  heaven ;  to  Jacob  on  a  ladder  of 
glory,  as  he  slept  with  his  head  on  a  stone, 
and  then  wrestled  with  him  until  dawn ;  also 
when  he  was  to  meet  his  brother  Esau. 
20 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


It  is  this  prince  of  the  angels  who  works 
with  Moses  in  the  deliverance  of  the  Hebrews 
from  their  Egyptian  oppressors,  smiting  the 
first-born  of  man  and  of  beast,  performing 
wonders  which  overcome  Pharaoh  and  all 
his  devices ;  their  defender  and  guide  during 
the  forty  years'  wandering  in  the  desert ;  the 
immediate  inspiration  of  Moses  under  all  the 
emergencies  of  the  novitiate  of  a  nation  to 
be  the  chosen  people  of  God. 

To  the  Leader  who  succeeded  the  Law- 
giver, the  appearance  of  this  patron  of  the 
Hebrew  people  was  still  more  pronounced: 
"  And  when  Joshua  was  by  Jericho  he  lifted 
up  his  eyes  and  saw  a  man  standing  over 
against  him,  holding  a  drawn  sword;  and  he 
went  to  him  and  said  :  Art  thou  for  us  or 
for  our  adversaries  ?  And  he  answered  :  I 
am  the  prince  of  the  host  of  the  Lord." 
And  this  apparition  is  followed,  in  the  narra- 
tive, by  the  miraculous  taking  of  Jericho,  the 
actual  entrance  into  and  taking  possession  of 
the  Promised  Land ;  while  apparition  after 
apparition  marks  the  decisive  periods  in  the 
history  of  God's  people. 

21 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


To  the  Prophet  Daniel,  however,  came  a 
manifestation  inspiring  a  description  of  an- 
gelic glories  which  has  never  been  exceeded 
by  mortal  pen,  never  realized  by  mortal 
brush;  this  being  of  dazzling  perfections  an- 
nouncing to  Daniel  under  what  auspices  the 
affairs  of  the  world  were  then  being  con- 
ducted, and  giving  the  name  of  him  to  whose 
charge  the  people  of  God  had  been  com- 
mitted— "Michael  your  prince/'  Then, 
passing  from  that  present  time  to  a  future: 
"  At  that  time  shall  Michael  rise  up,  the 
great  prince  who  standeth  for  the  children 
of  thy  people/' 

In  those  concise  but  often  poetic  anno- 
tations with  which  our  own  erudite  Most 
Reverend  Francis  Patrick  Kenrick,  D.D., 
embellished  his  translation  of  the  entire 
Scriptures,  we  find  this  note  appended  to 
what  we  have  just  quoted  concerning  Saint 
Michael :  He  was  regarded  as  the  protector 
of  the  Israelites.  He  is  now  considered  the 
protector  of  the  Church."  Every  intelligent 
altar  boy,  the  world  over,  is  familiar  with  the 
invocation  to  Saint  Michael  appended  to  the 

22 


V 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 

prayers  prescribed  by  his  Holiness  Leo  XIIL, 
to  be  said  in  behalf  of  the  Church  by  priest 
and  people  after  every  low  Mass.  We  thus 
see,  in  this  last  year  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, the  same  belief  in  the  championship  of 
Saint  Michael  which  was  expressed,  so 
pointedly,  in  the  first  centuries  by  Saint  John 
and  Saint  Jude. 

In  Christian  art  there  has  never  been  a 
time,  even  in  the  unlighted  catacombs  with 
their  narrow  spaces,  when  angels  did  not 
come  into  the  representations  of  supernatural 
events.  But  no  sooner  did  mosaic  lend  itself 
to  the  adornment  of  the  early  basilicas,  than 
angels,  resplendent,  awe-inspiring,  filled  the 
upper  line  of  vast  apses  radiant  with  celestial 
visions;  glorifying  the  compositions  of  the 
fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh  centuries,  inspired, 
as  they  were,  not  only  by  the  Apocalypse  of 
Saint  John,  but  by  such  manifestations  of 
Saint  Michael  as  that,  in  493,  to  the  Bishop 
over  Monte  Gargano,  in  Apulia,  Italy,  com- 
manding him  to  build  a  church  there,  which 
has  been  from  that  time  a  place  of  pil- 
grimage. 

23 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


But  a  manifestation  still  more  imposing 
marked  the  pontificate  of  Gregory  the  Great, 
in  590,  when  the  pestilence  devastating 
Rome  and  the  entire  region  called  out,  as  a 
last  resource  of  that  Pontiff,  a  three  days* 
procession,  in  which  entire  Rome  may  be 
said  to  have  joined  as  penitents ;  patricians, 
plebeians  ;  the  young  as  well  as  the  old  and 
middle  aged  ;  mothers  with  their  babes  ;  monks 
and  nuns,  abbots  and  abbesses;  Gregory  him- 
self with  bare  feet,  and  the  Madonna  of  Saint 
Luke,  now  treasured  in  the  Borghese  chapel 
of  Saint  Mary  Major,  carried  as  a  banner. 
On  the  third  day,  as  the  procession  was 
passing  the  mausoleum  of  Hadrian,  the  Pon- 
tiff, raising  his  eyes,  saw,  standing  on  its 
summit,  the  Archangel  Michael  sheathing  his 
sword,  as  if  he  had  come  triumphant  from  the 
battlefield  of  death.  From  that  moment  the 
plague  ceased.  A  church  was  dedicated  there 
in  honor  of  Saint  Michael,  and  the  mausoleum 
has  borne  ever  since  the  name  of  Castle 
Angelo.  The  statue  which  we  see  to-day 
was  placed  there  by  Benedict  XIV.  more 
than  eleven  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  the 
'24 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


apparition ;  and  yet,  as  some  one  has  said, 
the  bronze  statue,  "  with  its  vast  wings  poised 
in  air,  seen  against  the  deep-blue  sky  of  Rome 
or  lighted  up  by  its  golden  sunset,  can  never 
seem  other  than  a  vision/' 

The  Greek  schools  were  rich  in  angelic 
accessories.  Cimabue,  Giotto,  Duccio,  the 
Lorenzetti,  were  never  at  a  loss  for  legions 
of  angels ;  while  the  archangels  were  repre- 
sented with  a  dignity  and  graciousness  never 
to  be  excelled.  But  the  glorious  personality 
of  Saint  Michael  seizes  us  in  a  way  not  to  be 
resisted,  when  we  come  to  that  golden  age  in 
which  the  inspirations  of  the  devout  artist 
clothed  themselves  with  those  beautiful  gar- 
ments which  come  from  a  perfect  technique, 
with  no  loss,  but  rather  a  gain,  to  spirituality. 
Never  was  the  first  triumph  of  good  over 
evil  so  vividly  portrayed  as  when  Raphael, 
with  his  hand  of  marvelous  lightness,  sketched 
that  Saint  Michael  which  is  one  of  the 
glories  of  the  Louvre,  unapproached,  we 
may  say  unapproachable. 

Guido  Reni's  Saint  Michael  in  the  church 
of  the  Cappuccini,  Rome,  gives  the  moment 
25 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 

in  which  the  spear  of  the  defender  of  God's 
majesty  touches  the  rebellious  angel,  turning 
him  into  a  groveling  monster.  But  the  de- 
scent upon  his  adversary  is  a  premeditated 
one;  while  in  Raphael's,  the  aerial  leader  of 
the  heavenly  host,  glorious  in  the  perfections 
of  his  unsullied  angelic  nature,  wholly  intent 
upon  repairing  the  outraged  majesty  of  God, 
darts  with  the  speed  of  lightning  through  the 
infinite  spaces  of  heaven ;  the  spear  held  in 
both  hands  ready  to  strike  from  aloft ;  the 
foot  scarcely  touching  the  hideous  creature 
beneath  him ;  but  the  victory  is  there,  won 
in  the  name  of  God,  and  therefore  with  a 
lofty  serenity,  an  unconscious  majesty,  which 
places  it  among  the  wonders  of  mortal  con- 
ceptions and  of  mortal  achievements.  It  is 
as  if  the  story  of  Saint  Michael  as  told  by 
Saint  John  had  been  heard,  for  the  first  time, 
by  the  young  man  Raphael,  and  projected 
upon  the  canvas  with  the  swiftness  of  a  well- 
nigh  angelic  genius. 

On  a  wall  of  the  Sistine  Chapel,  Luca 
Signorelli  gives  the  journey  of  Moses  and  his 
wife  Zipporah  into  Egypt  \  and  we  see  in 
26 


PERUGINO 

SAINT  MICHAEL,  FROM  THE  ASSUMPTION 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


the  center  of  the  foreground  Michael,  in  all 
the  grandeur  of  the  prince  of  God's  people, 
withstanding  Moses  ;  forbidding  his  progress; 
which  is  explained  by  the  neglect  of  Moses 
to  circumcise  his  youngest  son,  thus  bringing 
contempt  upon  the  law ;  while  to  Michael  is 
accorded  a  leadership  higher  than  that  of 
Moses.  The  scene  alluded  to  by  Saint  Jude 
in  his  epistle,  "  When  Michael  the  Arch- 
angel, disputing  with  the  devil,  contended 
about  the  body  of  Moses,"  is  given  on  the 
entrance  wall  of  the  Sistine  Chapel  by  Cec- 
chino  Salviati;  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  none 
of  the  events  in  which  Saint  Michael,  as  in 
the  case  of  Heliodorus,  takes  in  hand  the 
cause  of  God,  have  been  overlooked  in  those 
matchless  serials  illustrating  the  sacred  writ- 
ings by  Christian  artists  in  one  century  or 
another. 

A  greater  contrast  to  the  treatment  of 
Saint  Michael  by  Raphael,  when  both  are  of 
such  exalted  beauty,  could  hardly  be  imagined 
than  that  of  his  master,  Perugino ;  the  best 
example  of  which  is  in  that  line  of  saints 
giving  such  a  meditative  loveliness  to  Peru- 
27 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 

gino's  great  Assumption.  The  whole  pic- 
ture, indeed,  is  conceived  in  a  meditative 
spirit.  The  ascent  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
itself  is  serene,  and  is  contemplated  with 
silent  rapture  by  those  four  saints  called  "  the 
four  ambrosial  saints,"  inasmuch  as  they 
seem,  in  their  beatitude,  to  have  been  nour- 
ished on  the  ambrosia  of  celestial  delights. 
The  first  to  the  right,  as  we  look  at  the  pic- 
ture, represents  Saint  Michael,  his  victory 
won,  yet  still  in  the  panoply  of  the  prince  of 
the  angelic  hosts,  the  helmet  crowned  by 
the  slender  plumes  of  the  bird  of  paradise; 
one  hand  on  his  shield,  his  sword  in  sheath, 
and  the  beauty  of  the  face  altogether  youth- 
ful. 

Fra  Angelico  —  whose  name  indicates  his 
predilection,  whose  angels  we  may  call  count- 
less, from  those  lovely  choirs  standing  around 
the  throne,  holding  caressingly  to  their  cheeks 
the  viols  whereon  they  celebrate  in  blissful 
strains  the  glory  of  Mary  in  her  Coronation, 
as  we  see  it  in  the  Louvre ;  or  in  those 
charming  groups,  weaving,  interweaving  in  a 
gentle  rhythmic  dance,  as  expressive  of  joy  as 
28 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


the  viols  or  the  voices  of  the  cantors,  of 
that  other  Coronation  in  the  Uffizi,  in  which 
a  radiance,  reminding  one  of  our  Northern 
Lights,  spreads  upward  and  around  from  the 
throne  on  which  sits  the  Eternal  Son  lay- 
ing the  crown  on  the  head  of  His  Mother — 
has  not  failed  to  give  us  Saint  Michael  in  the 
distinctive  personality  of  his  princely  leader- 
ship, cased  in  armor  from  shoulder  to  heel, 
the  wings  not  spread,  but  rising  above  the 
head  like  plumes;  one  hand  supporting  his 
shield,  the  other  bearing  his  lance,  and  the 
expression  that  of  a  watchman  on  the  heights 
of  Paradise ;  not  only  victorious,  but  still 
the  ever  present,  matchless  defender  of  God 
and  of  His  Church. 

Besides  these  impersonations  of  Saint 
Michael  as  prince  and  leader  of  the  heavenly 
host,  we  see  him,  from  century  to  century 
in  art,  under  the  several  offices  appointed  to 
him  for  the  dead  as  well  as  the  living,  espe- 
cially as  the  Angel  of  the  Last  Judgment. 
Here  we  come  to  the  Campo  Santo  and 
to  Orcagna's  Last  Judgment,  as  the  one 
which  gives,  at  a  glance,  more  than  any 
29 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


other,  the  dogma  with  all  that  is  implied  in 
the  repeated  asseverations  of  our  Lord  in  re- 
gard to  it,  as  well  as  that  mingling  of  mercy 
and  of  justice  which  impresses  the  Christian 
imagination  and  instructs  the  Christian  con- 
science. It  is  Michael  who  disposes,  unerr- 
ingly, to  the  right  or  to  the  left  the  risen 
bodies  ;  while  the  awfulness  of  the  scene  is 
evidenced,  first  by  the  Blessed  Virgin,  who 
is  seen  at  the  side  of  her  Divine  Son  in  a 
mandorla  of  light,  imploring  Him  to  have 
mercy  on  fallen  man ;  and  again  by  the 
angel,  who,  angel  as  he  is,  sinless,  untouched 
by  the  curse  of  Lucifer,  still  cowers,  with 
his  mantle  to  his  face,  as  he  beholds  the 
sights  and  hears  the  awful  sounds  of  the  Day 
of  Doom. 

One  apparition  of  Saint  Michael  we  have 
kept  to  the  last,  as  linking  the  whole  story 
with  our  present  time.  This  manifestation 
was  made  in  706  to  Saint  Aubert,  Bishop  of 
Avranches.  In  the  reign  of  Childebert  11. 
this  holy  man  had  a  vision,  in  which  the 
Archangel  Michael  commanded  him  to  build 
a  church  on  a  lofty,  isolated  rock,  inaccess- 
30 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


ible  from  the  land  at  high  tide,  and  the  terror 
of  mariners.  To  this  day  the  spot  has  main- 
tained its  domination  over  the  Gulf  of 
Avranches  and  over  Normandy  itself.  The 
small  church  at  first  erected  was  replaced  by 
the  magnificent  abbey  church  begun  by 
Richard,  Duke  of  Normandy,  in  966,  and 
finished  by  William  the  Conqueror,  a 
shrine  and  a  fortress  in  one,  over  which  no 
other  banner  has  waved  than  that  bearing  the 
lilies  of  France. 

To-day  our  tourists  as  well  as  our  pilgrims 
brave  all  the  fatigues  which  attend  the  visita- 
tion of  Mont -Saint- Michel^  and  bring  to  our 
American  cities  the  solemn  impressions  left 
on  their  minds  by  this  monument  to  the 
traditions  of  Saint  Michael ;  remembering 
that  this  patron  of  the  Universal  Church  is, 
in  special,  the  patron  of  France  ;  manifesting 
himself  to  Joan  d'Arc,  the  Maid  of  Orleans, 
thus  bestowing  another  honor  not  only  upon 
France  but  on  Christian  womanhood. 

Our  Saint  Michael,  prince  of  the  heavenly 
host, —  we  cannot  leave  our  theme  with  its 
splendors,  its  heroism,  without  a  word  for  the 
31 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


floral  host  which  so  beautifies  our  American 
meadows,  our  hillsides,  our  nooks,  on  the 
great  Feast  of  Saint  Michael,  the  29th  of  Sep- 
tember ;  and  while  comparatively  few  of  the 
shifting  multitudes  scattered  over  our  prairies, 
our  vast  stretches  of  what  otherwise  would 
seem  a  desert,  associate  these  flowers  in  their 
varied  loveliness  with  the  festival,  yet  they 
bear  to  all  men  a  hint  of  the  tradition  of  the 
great  Archangel  in  their  significant  name  of 
Michaelmas-daisies. 


32 


CATACOMB 

SAINT  GABRIEL  IN  THE  ANNUNCIATION 


Saint  Gabriel 


Gabriel,  the  Strength  of  God !  Let  us  take 
the  description  of  this  radiant  being — beau- 
tiful in  his  strength,  doing  wonders  —  from 
Daniel,  to  whom  he  came  in  vision  to  make 
known  the  hidden  counsels  of  God :  "  I  was 
by  the  great  river,  which  is  the  Tigris.  And 
I  lifted  up  my  eyes  and  I  saw  a  man  clothed 
in  linen,  and  his  loins  were  girded  with  the 
finest  gold.  His  body  was  like  the  chryso- 
lite, and  his  face  as  the  appearance  of  light- 
ning, and  his  eyes  as  a  burning  lamp;  his 
arms  and  all  downward,  even  to  the  feet,  like 
in  appearance  to  glittering  brass ;  and  the 
voice  of  his  word  like  the  voice  of  a  multi- 
tude. And  I,  Daniel,  alone  saw  the  vision, 
and  I  fainted  away  and  retained  no  strength. 
Therefore  he  that  looked  like  a  man  touched 
me  and  strengthened  me ;  and  he  said :  Fear 
not,  O  man  of  desires  !  Peace  be  to  thee  ! 
33 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


Take  courage  and  be  strong.  And  when  he 
spake  to  me  I  grew  strong." 

It  was  to  this  appearance  of  a  man,  clothed 
in  linen,  that  a  voice  called  out :  "  Gabriel, 
make  this  man  understand  the  vision."  And 
again  :  ''As  I  was  yet  speaking  in  prayer, 
behold,  the  man  Gabriel,  whom  I  had  seen 
in  the  vision  at  the  beginning,  flying  swiftly, 
touched  me  at  the  time  of  the  evening  sacri- 
fice." 

Thus,  five  hundred  years  before  the  com- 
ing of  our  Lord,  this  Angel  is  made  known 
to  us  by  name ;  his  office  declared,  himself  a 
glorious  personality,  to  which  the  imagination 
of  mortals  became  familiarized  by  pen,  as  it 
has  been  since  by  pencil  and  brush ;  although 
mortal  tints  must  fail  before  this  impersona- 
tion of  the  glorious  inhabitants  of  heaven, — 
the  bodyguard,  so  to  speak,  of  Him  who 
"  dwells  in  light  inaccessible." 

The  description  and  the  solemnity  of  the 
circumstances  under  which  this  angel  appeared 
to  Daniel,  prepare  us  for  revelations  of  the 
supremest  moment,  not  only  for  the  Hebrew 
people,  but  for  mankind,  for  the  entire  human 
34 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


race.  Hear  these  mysterious  predictions : 
"  Seventy  weeks  are  shortened  upon  thy  peo- 
ple and  upon  thy  holy  city  ;  that  transgression 
may  be  finished,  and  sin  may  have  an  end, 
and  iniquity  may  be  abolished,  and  everlast- 
ing justice  may  be  brought,  and  vision  and 
prophecy  fulfilled,  and  the  Holy  of  Holies 
may  be  anointed.  Know  thou,  therefore, 
and  take  notice  :  from  the  going  forth  of  the 
word  to  build  Jerusalem  again  unto  Christ 
the  Prince  there  shall  be  seven  weeks  and 
sixty-two  weeks,  and  the  street  shall  be  built 
again,  and  the  walls  in  straitness  of  times. 
And  after  sixty-two  weeks  Christ  shall  be 
slain ;  and  the  people  that  shall  deny  Him 
shall  not  be  His." 

To  this  follows  the  prediction  of  the  de- 
struction of  the  temple,  the  appointed  deso- 
lation, with  a  mysterious  allusion  to  that 
week  of  weeks  which  we  call  Holy  Week, — 
"  He  shall  confirm  the  covenant  with  many 
in  one  week  :  and  in  the  half  of  the  week  the 
victim  and  the  sacrifice  shall  fail."  Accord- 
ing to  Archbishop  Kenrick,  the  death  of 
Christ  our  Lord,  so  plainly  predicted  by  this 
35 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


prophecy,  corresponded  to  the  time  here 
given,  it  having  been  four  hundred  and  ninety- 
years  from  its  pronouncement  by  the  Angel 
Gabriel  to  its  fulfillment ;  while  the  death  of 
our  Lord  in  the  midst  of  the  week,  gives  a 
literalness  to  the  prophecy  which,  of  itself, 
fills  the  imagination  with  a  supreme  awe.  It 
is  with  reference  to  this  prophecy  that  the 
title  of  "  The  Angel  of  the  Redemption " 
has  been  awarded  to  Gabriel. 

Those  four  pilasters  which  give  so  unique 
an  adornment  to  the  facade  of  the  Duomo 
at  Orvieto,  have  been  a  book  of  instruc- 
tion, before  which  every  sculptor,  from 
Giotto  to  Michael  Angelo,  and  even  to  our 
own  day,  has  lingered  with  veneration ;  telling, 
as  they  do  in  their  beautifully  arranged  reliefs, 
the  story  of  mankind  from  the  creation  to 
the  Last  Judgment ;  but  the  third  may  be 
called  the  pilaster  of  the  Redemption,  the 
story  of  Gabriel  in  the  Old  and  the  New 
Testament  being  set  forth  in  these  groups 
with  the  closest  possible  adherence  to  his 
special  office  in  relation  to  man. 

Yet,  notwithstanding    the  awe-inspiring 
36 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


majesty  of  his  introduction  to  us  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  he  is  first  recognized  by  the  popu- 
lar mind  in  the  Annunciation, —  that  mystery 
of  mysteries,  as  we  may  say,  but  clothed 
with  a  loveliness  that  has  held,  transported, 
the  eye  of  the  artist  and  the  heart  of  the  poet 
for  twenty  centuries  ;  reproduced  by  brush, 
chisel,  or  the  tool  of  the  mosaic  worker,  in 
the  infinite  beauty  of  its  relations  to  every 
other  Christian  mystery  or  dogma.  Some- 
times we  see  it  filling  m  the  corners  of  an 
arch  on  which  has  been  represented  a  cruci- 
fixion ;  again,  giving  a  subject  for  the  fold- 
ing-wings of  some  grand  altar  piece,  like  the 
Adoration  of  the  Magi,  or  the  Coronation  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin ;  always  graceful,  always 
charming,  supplying,  to  a  meditative  mind, 
the  mysterious  link  between  the  Incarnation 
and  the  Redemption. 

Scarcely  had  the  never-to-be-rivaled  first 
century  closed  upon  the  world  when  the  ceil- 
ing of  a  Roman  catacomb  —  no  other  than 
that  of  Saint  Priscilla  on  the  Salarian  Way  — 
bore  its  testimony  to  the  Incarnation,  to 
Mary,  the  Mother  of  Him  who  was  to  re- 
37 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


deem  the  world,  and  to  Gabriel,  the  Angel  of 
the  promised  Redemption ;  while  the  beauty 
of  the  ceiling  itself  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  tribute 
to  the  mystery.  Doves — those  doves  to  be 
seen  everywhere  in  Rome  —  flutter  gently  at 
the  four  corners  of  this  underground  apart- 
ment ;  classic  garlands,  disposed  with  a  cer- 
tain chaste  elegance  which  is  not  mere  sym- 
metry, touching  at  four  points  a  gemmed 
circle,  which  encloses  a  scene  comparing,  in 
purity  of  outline,  with  the  choicest  concep- 
tions of  early  Greece. 

The  immaculate  daughter  of  Joachim  and 
Anna,  the  virgin  spouse  of  Joseph, —  robed 
with  the  simplicity  of  a  maiden  reared  in  the 
temple,  her  mantle  resting  on  her  head  and 
upon  one  shoulder, —  is  seated  in  one  of 
those  antique  chairs  which  served  as  thrones; 
the  figure  in  complete  repose,  the  head  bent 
modestly  forward,  as  before  her  stands  one 
who  comes  to  her  as  a  messenger  —  a  mes- 
senger from  the  King  of  kings, — to  announce 
that  of  her  is  to  be  born  that  Messiah  for 
whom  Mary  herself  and  her  entire  nation  are 
so  eagerly  looking.  His  tunic  of  classic  sim- 
38 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 

plicity  is  loosely  girded,  held  by  the  left  hand, 
while  the  right  is  extended  toward  Mary  with 
the  index  finger  claiming  the  attention  his 
message  deserves,  his  head  inclining  ear- 
nestly toward  her  as  her  left  hand  is  slightly 
raised,  expressing  some  delicate  scruple. 

And  this  messenger,  who  is  not  even 
winged,  who  has  come  in  so  noiselessly  upon 
her  maiden  solitude,  who  answers  her  scruple 
so  gently,  who  regards  with  such  veneration 
this  tender  flower  of  virginity,  as  if  he  feared 
the  stem  might  break  under  the  weight  of  the 
mystery,  is  that  Gabriel  who  revealed  him- 
self in  all  his  terrible  beauty  to  Daniel  as  the 
Strength  of  God;  before  whom  the  prophet 
fainted,  to  whom  he  was  afraid  to  raise  his 
eyes  even  when  conversing  with  him.  It  is 
as  if,  in  this  first  delineation  of  the  Annun- 
ciation, the  artist  had  entered,  by  meditation, 
into  the  very  presence  of  the  Virgin  and  the 
Angel,  realizing  the  tenderness  as  well  as  the 
awful  grandeur  of  the  mystery. 

In  the  first  group  on  the  Arch  of  Triumph 
in  Saint  Mary  Major,  the  Annunciation  is 
very  differently  conceived.  The  Blessed  Vir- 
39 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 

gin  is  seated  on  a  decorated  throne,  regally 
attired,  accompanied  by  five  winged  angels; 
while  flying  swiftly  through  the  air,  as  he  came 
to  Daniel  five  hundred  years  before,  is  seen 
the  winged  Gabriel,  the  right  hand  and  index 
finger  extended  toward  the  Virgin;  and,  de- 
scending toward  her  as  swiftly,  the  Dove  of 
the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  sublime  Annunciation  by  Pietro  Lor- 
enzetti  of  Siena  gives  the  same  divine 
hymn  of  joy,  of  praise,  but  on  another  key. 
Gabriel  is  here  the  Strength  of  God,  but  the 
strength  has  that  quality  of  serene  majesty 
which  belongs  to  eternal  things.  The  Virgin 
is  seated  ;  her  mantle,  which  is  drawn  over  her 
head,  and  her  tunic  are  richly  embroidered ;  an 
open  book  rests  upon  her  lap;  her  hands  are 
crossed  with  exquisite  sweetness  and  modesty 
over  her  bosom,  and  her  eyes  are  raised  to 
welcome  the  mystic  Dove  descending  toward 
her,  while  one  sees  Ecce  ancilla  Domini  on  the 
background,  as  if  just  breathed  forth  by  her 
virginal  lips.  A  lily  stands  between  Mary  and 
the  Angel,  who  is  kneeling,  his  vestments 
royally  embroidered,  his  head  covered  with  a 
40 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 

linen  cowl,  over  which  is  a  crown  of  olive 
leaves,  symbol  of  peace  and  joy;  two  sets  of 
radiant  wings  spring  from  his  shoulders — one 
raised,  the  other  pendant;  in  one  hand  he 
bears  a  palm,  the  other  hand  gives  the  gesture 
of  one  whose  mission  has  been  fulfilled,  and 
the  grave,  noble  face  is  turned  heavenward,  in 
adoration  of  a  mystery  accomplished. 

We  can  almost  feel  our  readers  urging  us 
to  hasten  our  steps  toward  that  Annuncia- 
tion in  the  cloister  of  Saint  Mark,  Florence, 
by  Fra  Angelico;  and,  strange  to  say,  while 
the  Dominican  lay-brother  gives  long  wings 
to  his  Gabriel,  it  is,  in  tenderness  of  spirit, 
nearer  to  the  one  in  Saint  Priscilla's  Ceme- 
tery than  any  other  we  know  of — the  ten- 
derness to  be  regarded  as  its  characteristic. 
"  A  garden  enclosed  is  my  sister,  my  spouse," 
is  the  image  which  seems  to  have  filled  the 
mind  of  the  Angelical  Friar,  as  he  limned, 
in  a  meditative  trance,  this  never-to-be- 
imitated  Annunciation.  A  garden  enclosed, 
literally;  for  we  see  the  high  fence,  the  trees 
of  the  adjoining  grounds,  with  here  and  there 
a  tall  cypress;  see,  too,  the  March  turf,  en- 
41 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


ameled  with  young  plants  just  sending  up 
their  budding  stalks,  coming  close  to  the  edge 
of  the  arched  cloister  with  its  slender  pillars 
and  their  acanthus  capitals,  within  which  sits 
that  Blessed  Maiden  chosen  from  all  eternity 
to  be  the  Mother  of  the  world's  Redeemer — 
sits  there  so  lowlily  on  a  bench,  such  as  we  see 
standing  about  within  the  precincts  of  any 
convent.  There  is  no  kneeling-stool,  no 
book  of  prayers  or  of  prophecies  at  hand; 
her  own  holy  thoughts  filling  her  mind  with 
a  peace  past  our  comprehending. 

It  is  to  this  scene  that  our  Gabriel  has 
winged  his  flight;  and  now,  with  a  gentle 
genuflection,  both  hands  crossed  on  his  breast, 
his  face  beaming  with  the  joy  of  heaven,  he 
salutes  the  Maiden  with  his  "  Hail,  full  of 
grace  :  the  Lord  is  with  thee ! "  The  tender 
Virgin  is  not  startled :  she  only  inclines  mod- 
estly toward  the  Angel  and  crosses  her  hands 
as  if  waiting  for  him  to  reveal  to  her  the  pur- 
port of  his  visit.  Gabriel  does  not  raise  his 
index  finger  even;  there  is  no  descending 
Dove,  no  lily;  but  how  put  into  words  the 
sweetness  of  admiration,  the  lovingness  of 
42 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


worshipful  veneration,  in  every  line  of  that 
genuflecting  figure  ?  There  was  no  shrinking 
from  the  Angel,  no  shrinking  from  his  mes- 
sage, to  the  mind  of  Fra  Angelico ;  and  the 
question,  "  How  can  this  be  ?  "  appeared  to 
him  in  his  tranced  rapture  over  the  mystery, 
to  have  been  asked  with  her  interior  peace 
unbroken,  to  overflow  in  the  response,  "Be 
it  done  unto  me  according  to  thy  word." 

But  Florence,  so  highly  favored  among 
cities,  holds  still  another  Gabriel,  another 
Annunciation,  before  which  we  pause  as 
before  the  summing  up  of  the  mystery  and 
its  fruit.  On  the  Piazza  Annunziata  stands 
the  beautiful  church  of  that  name,  to  which 
lead  up  the  arcades  on  the  spandrels  of  which 
the  Delia  Robbias  left  those  pathetic  effigies 
of  the  Holy  Innocents,  each  with  its  death- 
wound  while  still  in  its  swaddling  clothes; 
for  within  is  that  refuge  of  the  foundlings  of 
Florence  tenderly  named  I Innocenti,  or  "The 
Innocents,"  as  if  to  bespeak  for  them  the 
compassion  of  the  faithful.  In  one  of  the 
corridors,  so  as  to  meet  the  eye  of  every 
child  and  every  visitor,  is  this  grandest  of 
43 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


all  Annunciations,  in  terra  cotta  and  at  the 
hand  of  a  Delia  Robbia — the  whole  enclosed 
in  an  arch  of  cherubs'  heads. 

The  Virgin  is  kneeling  with  a  book  of 
prayers  or  prophecies;  before  her  is  a  vase 
filled  with  lilies.  All  is  composure,  until  the 
silence  of  her  hour  of  prayer  or  of  meditation 
is  broken  by  the  salutation :  "  Hail,  full  of 
grace:  the  Lord  is  with  thee!  Blessed  art 
thou  among  women!"  The  Maiden  looks 
up — not  startled,  but  laying  one  hand  on  her 
shoulder  with  a  movement  of  the  gentlest 
humility,  to  see  kneeling  before  her  our  Ga- 
briel, in  one  hand  a  bunch  of  lilies,  the  right 
hand  and  its  mighty  index  finger  raised  to 
declare  a  message  such  as  he  had  not  been 
charged  to  give  even  to  Daniel,  yet  involving 
all  that  he  had  predicted  to  that  prophet  five 
hundred  years  before. 

Mary  was  versed  in  the  prophecies  of  her 
people,  and  with  the  sound  of  GabriePs  voice 
must  have  come  to  her  an  echo  of  that  awful 
sentence  which  had  so  often  arrested  her 
thought  as  she  read :  "  The  Christ  shall  be 
slain,  and  the  people  that  shall  deny  Him 
44 


OVERBECK 

SAINT  GABRIEL  IN  THE  AGONY 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


shall  not  be  His."  And  we  recall  this,  too, 
of  Gabriel,  rightly  named  the  Strength  of 
God,  for  we  see  it  in  every  line  of  that  pow- 
erful figure  in  its  wonderful  drapery.  The 
Mother  who  is  to  lay  her  Babe  in  the  man- 
ger, who  is  to  flee  with  Him  into  Egypt,  is 
to  stand  for  three  hours  beneath  His  cross,  is 
before  him;  and  Gabriel  says  to  her:  "  Fear 
not,  Mary,  ...  of  His  kingdom  there 
shall  be  no  end" — the  promise  given  so  as 
to  come  back  to  her  in  her  hour  of  desola- 
tion. This  is  Luca  della  Robbia's  Ga- 
briel; and  we  never  see  that  index  finger 
emphasizing  his  message,  but  the  Incarnation 
and  the  Redemption  are  given  by  one  voice, 
as  only  Gabriel  could  give  them. 

Nevertheless,  another  oflfice  had  been  com- 
mitted to  Gabriel.  Thirty-three  years  have 
been  passed  on  the  earth  by  Him  who  had 
come  to  redeem  not  only  the  Hebrew  but  the 
Gentile.  Again  and  again  has  He  been  de- 
^  nied  by  this  people  of  whose  lineage  He  had 
come;  the  fulfillment  of  Daniel's  prophecy  is 
at  hand;  the  sop  has  been  given  to  Judas; 
the  traitor's  kiss  is  awaiting  Him;  the  heavy 
45 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


breathing  of  His  three  chosen  disciples  in 
their  sleep  comes  to  Him  under  the  olive- 
trees  of  Gethsemane ;  the  world  He  has 
made,  its  sins  and  ingratitude,  the  price  at 
which  it  must  be  redeemed  as  His  own  again, 
rises  before  Him ;  the  Precious  Blood,  so  soon 
to  water  the  floor  of  Pilate's  Praetorium,  stain 
the  paving  stones  of  the  streets  of  Jerusalem, 
give  its  last  drop  on  Calvary,  oozes  through 
the  pores  of  that  sacred  body,  trickles  down  to 
the  ground;  and  from  the  lips,  parched  with 
the  death-agony,  comes  the  cry,  "  Father,  if 
it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  Me ! " 
But  even  as  the  cry  escapes  the  lips,  through 
the  gloom  of  the  olive-trees,  of  the  deep 
midnight,  comes  a  vested  form  of  light  on 
mighty  wings,  and  the  cup  he  bears  in  his 
hands  is  to  be,  verily,  the  Strength  of  God, 
borne  to  Him  by  His  own  Archangel ! 

It  is  Overbeck  who  puts  this  scene  before 
us  as  no  other  has  done.  Once  he  painted 
it  as  a  subject  by  itself ;  but  we  pass  that  by 
to  linger,  meditate,  perhaps  weep,  over  a 
corner  in  one  of  his  Forty  Illustrations; 
finding  there  what  will  come  back  to  us,  we 
46 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 

believe,  when  we  enter  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  and  we  are  ready  to  cry  out, 
"  Father,  if  it  be  possible  ! For  through 
the  glooms  of  death  and  of  mortality.  He 
who  died  that  we  might  live,  will  send  to  us 
His  own  consoler — he  who  is  the  Strength 
of  God,  even  Gabriel,  His  Archangel. 


47 


PERUGINO 

SAINT  RAPHAEL  AS  THE  ANGEL  OF  HEALING 


Saint  Raphael 


Medicine  of  God  and  His  Healing  Angel, 
prince  of  the  Guardian  Angels  and  guide  of 
travelers,  promoter  and  protector  of  holy 
wedlock, — such  are  the  gracious  offices 
assigned  in  Holy  Writ,  according  to  the 
traditions  of  God's  chosen  people  and  the 
Christians  of  the  first  centuries,  to  Raphael, 
Archangel;  attracting  us  by  his  benignity, 
charming  us,  from  the  first  age  of  Christian 
art  to  this  present  one,  by  the  representations 
of  his  affable  consideration  for  our  humanity 
under  its  most  engaging  and  its  most  pathetic 
aspects;  for  glorious  as  his  presence  must 
have  been  under  all  its  manifestations,  the 
glory  was  tempered  to  meet  the  fallen  con- 
dition of  our  race. 

Thus,  while  Michael  was  regarded  by  the 
Hebrews  as  the  prince  of  the  hosts  of  the 
Lord  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  to  Raphael 
49 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


were  committed  those  journeyings  which 
make  so  significant  a  part  of  the  story  of 
God*s  chosen  people;  going  back  even  to 
the  patriarch  Abraham,  who  expresses  this 
traditional  belief  in  his  instructions  to  the 
elder  servant  of  his  house  who  was  over  all 
that  he  had,  when  sending  him  to  his  own 
country,  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  to  secure  a 
wife  for  his  son  Isaac :  "  The  Lord  God  of 
heaven,  who  took  me  out  of  my  father's 
house  and  out  of  my  native  country,  who 
spake  to  me  and  sware  to  me,  saying:  To 
thy  seed  will  1  give  this  land;  He  will  send 
His  angel  before  thee,  and  thou  shalt  take  a 
wife  for  my  son  thence."  Again  to  Moses, 
setting  forth  on  that  journey  of  forty  years 
through  the  desert :  "  Behold  I  send  my 
angel  before  thee,  to  keep  thee  on  thy  jour- 
ney and  bring  thee  into  the  place  which  I 
have  prepared";  and  this  promise  was  re- 
newed immediately  after  the  grievous  fall  of 
the  Hebrews  into  idolatry  at  the  foot  of 
Mount  Sinai.  Still  again,  when,  the  desert 
passed,  Moses,  making  request  of  the  King 
of  Edom  to  pass  through  his  country  to  their 
50 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


promised  destination,  says  :  "  The  Lord  sent 
our  angel  who  hath  brought  us  out  of  Egypt." 

In  none  of  these  instances  is  the  name  of 
the  angel  given,  but  Raphael  has  been  re- 
garded in  every  age  as  the  guide  of  the 
Israelites  to  the  Promised  Land;  and  it  was 
in  accordance  with  this  tradition  as  held  by 
the  Hebrew  people  that  his  office  as  guide  of 
travelers  was  brought  out  in  the  Book  of 
Tobias.  According  to  Archbishop  Kenrick 
—  who,  we  may  say  here,  is  quoted  as 
authority  throughout  the  Roman  Breviary 
translated  out  of  Latin  into  English  by  John, 
Marquis  of  Bute  —  this  book,  named  Tobias, 
was  composed  during  the  captivity  of  the 
Jews  in  Chaldee.  Saint  Jerome  found  a  copy 
of  it,  which  he  translated  from  the  Chaldean 
language  into  Latin  with  the  aid  of  a  Jew, 
who  explained  it  to  him  in  Hebrew.  Hip- 
polytus,  a  Roman  of  the  early  part  of  the 
third  century,  speaks  of  the  prayer  of  Tobias 
and  of  Sara,  and  of  the  angel  sent  to  heal 
them.  It  is  also  mentioned  by  Origen,  who 
was  a  witness,  so  early  as  254,  to  the  belief 
of  Christians;  by  Saint  Basil  in  379;  Saint 
SI 

U„  OF  ILL  Li3. 

I 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


Ambrose,  397;  Saint  Jerome,  420 ;  and 
before  430  by  Saint  Augustine.  The  Book 
of  Tobias  is  included  in  the  Canon  composed 
in  the  Council  of  Hippo,  and  also  in  the 
Third  Council  of  Carthage,  at  which  Saint 
Augustine  was  present. 

Leaving  to  our  readers  to  peruse  by  them- 
selves this  charming  narrative,  we  come  to  its 
treatment  in  art,  to  find  it  delineated  in  that 
catacomb  of  apostolic  times.  Saint  Priscilla 
on  the  Salarian  Way,  in  a  picture  belonging 
to  the  second  century,  in  which  the  young 
Tobias  is  represented  as  arrived  at  the  end 
of  his  journey,  conducted  by  the  angel,  who 
is  distinctly  named  Raphael  in  the  Book  of 
Tobias. 

Another  picture  of  the  young  Tobias  in 
one  of  the  compartments  of  a  beautiful  ceil- 
ing in  the  Cemetery  of  Saint  Domitilla  on 
the  Ardeatine  Way,  running  parallel  with 
the  Appian  Way,  represents  him  without  the 
angel,  but  with  the  fish  in  his  hand,  and  with  all 
that  elegance  of  classic  art,  which  had  lingered 
into  the  second  Christian  century.  Still 
again  in  a  fresco  discovered  in  1849 
52 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 

Cemetery  of  Saints  Thrason  and  Saturninus, 
—  a  very  early  cemetery, —  Tobias  is  repre- 
sented as  giving  the  fish  to  the  angel,  who 
is  clothed  in  a  long  tunic,  while  Tobias  has 
only  a  scarf  around  his  body. 

There  are,  in  fact,  a  great  many  repre- 
sentations of  Tobias  in  the  early  catacombs, 
generally  clad  in  a  shprt  tunic,  girded,  hold- 
ing his  hand  in  the  mouth  of  the  fish.  He  is 
seen  thus  on  the  bottom  of  a  glass  cup,  gilded; 
and  in  another  very  similar  cup,  on  an  azure 
ground.  It  is  supposed  that  these  glass  cups 
were  used  at  the  nuptial  feasts,  as  Tobias 
and  Sara  were  regarded  as  the  models  of 
Christian  spouses ;  while  a  newly  discovered 
painting  in  the  Cemetery  of  Saint  Saturninus 
gives  the  whole  story  of  Tobias  more  fully 
than  any  representation  known  at  present. 
In  this  picture  he  is  seen  preceded  by  his 
dog,  and  in  his  hand  what  looks  like  the 
heart  of  a  fish  ;  while  on  an  ancient  sarcoph- 
agus at  Verona,  he  is  seen  on  a  portico 
with  his  dog  who  caresses  an  old  man;  thus 
representing  the  return  of  Tobias  to  his 
parents, —  the  office  of  the  Archangel  Ra- 
53 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 

phael  being  recognized  even  when  he  is  not 
actually  introduced ;  verifying  the  Christian 
belief  in  his  ministrations. 

Coming  to  the  New  Testament,  and  to 
the  fifth  chapter  of  Saint  John,  we  have  an 
account  of  the  miracle  performed  by  our 
Lord  upon  the  paralytic,  preceded  by  a  de- 
tailed account  of  the  same  at  a  pool  in  Jeru- 
salem called  Probatica  in  Greek,  signifying 
sheepfold,  because  near  a  sheep  market;  in 
Hebrew,  Bethsaida,  or  fishing  pool,  with  its 
five  porches.  "  In  these,"  the  evangelist 
tells  us,  "  lay  a  great  multitude  of  sick,  of 
blind,  of  lame,  of  withered,  waiting  for  the 
stirring  of  the  water.  And  an  angel  of  the 
Lord  descended  at  certain  times  into  the 
pool  and  the  water  was  stirred.  And  he  that 
went  down  first  into  the  pond  after  the  stir- 
ring of  the  water  was  cured  of  whatever  in- 
firmity he  suffered."  The  Angel  of  the 
Probatica  is  understood  to  be  the  Angel 
Raphael,  as  the  Healing  Angel,  his  name 
signifying,  strictly,  the  "  Medicine  of  God"; 
and  it  is  under  this  aspect  that  he  is  regarded 
as  the  patron  of  physicians  —  of  all  who 
54 


^he  Three  Archangels  in  Art 

practice  the  benevolent  healing  art;  while 
this  is  emphasized  in  all  its  lovely  circum- 
stances by  the  narrative  of  Tobias. 

The  devotional  figures  of  Raphael  often 
represent  him  in  the  dress  of  a  pilgrim, 
girded,  sandals  on  his  feet,  his  hair  bound 
with  a  fillet,  the  staff  in  his  hand,  and  some- 
times a  water-bottle  or  a  wallet  slung  from 
his  belt.  This,  of  course,  indicates  him  as 
the  Angel  of  the  journey  ;  but  in  other  in- 
stances he  carries  a  small  casket,  or  box,  in 
which  is  the  gall  or  liver  of  the  fish,  as  a  pro- 
tector against  evil  spirits,  and  also  as  a  heal- 
ing ointment,  according  to  the  angel's  direc- 
tions to  the  young  Tobias  for  the  restoration 
of  his  father's  sight.  He  is  thus  represented 
in  an  exquisite  picture  by  Perugino.  His 
tunic  is  girded;  his  mantle,  resting  on  one 
shoulder,  is  tucked  under  his  belt;  his  left 
hand  holds  that  of  the  young  Tobias,  while 
his  right  hand  bears,  with  a  gesture  indicat- 
ing advice  or  instruction,  the  casket  with  its 
precious  ointment  from  the  liver  of  the  fish, 
taken  at  the  very  outset  of  their  journey. 
The  feet  are  unshod;  all  the  draperies  sug- 
55 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


gestive  of  peace;  and  the  beautiful  head  — 
how  can  we  describe  it  ?  The  hair,  parted 
on  the  forehead,  falls  in  loose  waves  on  the 
shoulders;  the  face  is  bent  toward  his  young 
charge,  their  eyes  upon  each  other, —  in  the 
Angel's  a  look  of  the  most  tender,  even 
solemn,  solicitude,  in  the  youth's  one  of 
affectionate  veneration ;  over  the  whole  an 
air  of  angelic  watchfulness,  but  also  of  an- 
gelic peace,  which  passes  into  the  soul  of 
him  who  meditates  as  he  looks  upon  it;  rich 
in  its  lessons  of  heavenly  wisdom,  consoling 
in  its  assurances  of  angelic  love. 

Two  charming  compositions  give  us  the 
return  of  Tobias,  with  the  Angel  Raphael, 
to  his  aged  parents.  In  Luini's  all  the  figures 
are  half-length,  but  everything  is  told  or  sug- 
gested :  the  eager  Anna  pressing  close  to  her 
returned  son,  devouring  him  with  her  happy 
eyes;  the  patient  Tobias,  patient  in  his  blind- 
ness, both  hands  on  his  staff,  listening  to  his 
beloved  son,  who  is  looking  into  his  sightless 
eyes  with  tender  compassion,  while  he  tells 
the  story  of  his  journey,  of  the  sojourn 
with  their  kinsman  Raguel, —  one  hand  laid 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 

on  his  breast,  as  if  this  recital  were  of  the 
heart  more  than  of  the  memory;  while  his 
left  hand  still  holds  that  of  his  beloved  guide, 
protector,  friend,  to  whom  he  owes  all  the 
joy  he  is  communicating  to  his  dear  ones, 
who  have  waited  and  watched  so  long  for  his 
coming. 

And  our  Angel,  our  Raphael  —  his  tunic  is 
girded  and  tucked  under  his  belt,  as  one  who 
has  fared  swiftly  on  his  way ;  one  hand,  as 
we  have  said,  still  in  tl  at  of  his  young  charge, 
the  other  raised  slightly  with  a  gesture  as  if 
every  word  spoken  were  his  own,  so  lively  is 
his  sympathy,  so  personal  his  interest  in  every 
detail  as  it  is  related.  The  wings,  unseen  by 
those  whom  he  has  served,  rise  softly  from 
his  shoulders,  over  which  the  parted  hair  falls 
in  beauty;  the  eyelids  are  lowered,  as  if  he 
were  still  minding  his  charge ;  but  on  the 
lips  is  a  gentle  smile  of  satisfaction,  remem- 
bering lovely  things  accomplished, —  a  smile 
such  as  only  Luini  or  Leonardo  da  Vinci  has 
ever  left  on  paper  or  canvas.  The  gentle- 
ness of  the  joy,  almost  tearful,  fills  the  heart 
with  a  gratitude  which  is  called  forth  by 
57 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


heavenly  favors,  a  sense  of  celestial  benefac- 
tions. 

The  conception  of  this  same  scene  by 
Von  Deutsch,  given  in  an  exquisite  engrav- 
ing by  the  Diisseldorf  Society,  is  more  pro- 
nounced in  its  joyfulness.  We  see  through 
the  vine-clad  arches  of  the  Oriental  porch  a 
fair  landscape,  hills  and  homes,  and  a  wide 
stream, —  that  of  the  river  Tigris ;  and  com- 
ing up  to  the  arches,  just  so  as  to  be  seen, 
the  train  of  camels  and  retainers  who  have 
accompanied  Tobias  on  his  return, —  he  who 
had  gone  forth  alone,  with  his  guide  and  his 
dog,  in  quest  of  a  debt  which  would  relieve 
their  poverty  in  the  midst  of  blindness. 

All  this  tells  the  story  of  material  good; 
but  within  the  vine-clad  arches  the  young 
Tobias  has  thrown  himself,  in  an  ecstasy  of 
love  and  gratitude  that  he  sees  them  still 
again,  at  the  feet  of  father  and  of  mother, — 
the  father  stretching  forth  his  hands  as  if  to 
embrace  the  son  he  does  not  see ;  Anna 
clasping  him  in  a  transport  such  as  her  wait- 
ing eyes  have  earned;  while  one  hand  of  the 
young  Tobias  is  laid  around  the  young  wife, 
58 


^he  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


Sara,  as  if  presenting  her  thus  to  his  parents ; 
and  Anna  actually  embraces  both.  At  the 
door  come  forth  the  friends  and  neighbors,  or 
maids,  who  have  watched  and  waited  with 
this  aged  pair  for  the  return  of  their  son. 
All  is  happiness  unspeakable;  and  just  be- 
tween the  family  group  and  the  caravan  out- 
side stands  our  Raphael,  without  his  wings, 
still  the  "  beautiful  young  man,  Azarias,  the 
son  of  the  great  Ananias,  girded  as  if  ready 
to  walk,"  his  staff  in  his  hand,  looking  on 
the  happiness  he  has  wrought  by  the  com- 
mand of  God  for  His  servant  Tobias,  who 
had  again  and  again  left  his  feasts  and  his 
friends  to  bury  the  dead,  outcasts  of  his  peo- 
ple and  of  his  nation. 

The  whole  wondrous  story,  redolent  with 
everything  sweet  in  human  affection  as  well 
as  heavenly  grace,  has  been  told  from  begin- 
ning to  end,  as  no  other  has  ever  attempted 
to  tell  it,  by  Frederick  Overbeck  in  the  lower 
border  of  one  of  his  great  compositions  set- 
ting forth  the  symbolism,  type  and  ante-type, 
of  the  seven  sacraments,  this  one  elucidating 
the  sacrament  of  holy  matrimony;  the  fidelity 
59 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


of  these  consecutive  groups,  as  a  narrative,  to 
the  Bible  story  being  equaled  by  the  noble- 
ness of  the  conceptions  themselves.  The 
parting  of  the  young  Tobias  from  his  parents, 
Anna's  arms  around  his  neck  as  if  she  could 
not  give  him  out  of  her  sight,  the  majestic 
form  of  the  blind  Tobias  in  the  doorway  of 
his  house  w^ith  his  hands  clasped  in  prayer, 
the  angelic  guide  with  his  staff,  urging  Anna 
to  allow  her  son  to  depart,  pointing  out  the 
way ;  the  scene  at  the  river-side,  where  the 
great  fish  threatens  to  devour  the  young 
Tobias,  but  whose  attack  is  changed  by  the 
angel  guide  to  a  benefaction;  the  meeting 
between  the  patriarch  Raguel  and  his  young 
kinsman,  the  Angel  still  at  his  side;  then  the 
betrothal  of  the  young  Tobias  and  Sara, —  a 
group  so  beautiful  that  we  must  dwell  upon  it 
separately. 

Tobias  and  Sara  are  seated  opposite  each 
other;  at  the  side  of  Tobias  is  the  angel 
guide;  at  the  side  of  Sara,  her  mother,  bend- 
ing over  her  with  pathetic  solicitude;  while 
Raguel,  with  patriarchal  simplicity,  gives  his 
daughter  to  the  son  of  his  old  friend  and 
60 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 

kinsman,  as  both  extend  their  hands  to  be 
united  in  holy  wedlock.  Nothing  more  ab- 
solutely virginal  than  these  two  young  spouses 
has  ever  been  seen  in  art;  we  may  almost 
say,  never  can  be.  Simplicity,  a  grace  like 
that  of  a  Greek  antique,  a  tenderness  and 
even  solicitude  such  as  the  story,  when  re- 
membered, calls  for,  make  this  group  one  of 
the  pearls  of  art,  one  of  the  pearls  of  mortal 
imagination,  and  of  mortal  limning. 

In  the  next  group  we  see  these  young 
spouses  lying,  like  two  lilies,  on  their  mar- 
riage-bed, sleeping  sweetly  side  by  side.  A 
maid  has  forebodingly  raised  the  curtain  at 
their  head,  then  has  told  the  joyful  news  to 
Raguel  and  his  wife,  both  in  tearful  prayer ; 
while  an  open  grave,  we  know,  is  waiting  if 
their  tears  and  their  prayers  have  been  fruit- 
less. But,  lo !  in  the  corner  of  this  apart- 
ment stands  a  tripod  of  coals,  on  which,  at 
the  command  of  Raphael,  the  angelic  guide, 
Tobias  had  laid  a  particle  of  the  liver  taken 
from  the  fish,  as  told  at  the  beginning  of  the 
narrative;  and  above  the  curling  smoke  we 
see  the  evil  one,  Asmodeus,  expelled  from 
6i 


The  Three  Archangels  in  Art 


the  room  by  virtue  of  the  miraculous  fish 
gall ;  while  at  the  foot  of  the  bed  kneel 
Raguel  and  his  wife, —  Raguel  with  hands 
uplifted  in  praise,  Anna  with  her  head  bowed 
in  devout  thanksgiving. 

The  next  compartment  gives  the  joyful 
return  of  Tobias  to  his  parents ;  the  anoint- 
ing, according  to  the  instructions  given  by 
the  angel  guide,  of  the  blind  eyes  of  his 
father  with  the  ointment  of  the  fish  gall ;  the 
recognition  by  the  father  and  the  son  of  the 
angel  guide,  who  declares  himself  openly  to 
them :  "  I  am  the  Angel  Raphael,  one  of  the 
seven  who  stand  before  the  Lord."  And 
then,  resuming  the  glory  of  the  Archangel, 
he  rises  before  their  eyes  into  heaven. 

Never  has  the  fidelity  of  art  to  the  Writ- 
ten Word,  to  the  cherished  oral  traditions  of 
thousands  of  years,  been  more  beautifully 
exemplified  than  in  the  masterpieces  we  have 
cited  5  inspired  as  they  have  been  by  Raphael, 
that  most  gracious,  most  amiable  of  Arch- 
angels. 


62 


I 


RAPHAEL 

SAINT  RAPHAEL  AS  PRINCE  OF  GUARDIANS 


The  Guardian  Angels 


"  Behold  an  angel  of  the  Lord  called  to 
him :  Abraham,  Abraham,  lay  not  thy  hand 
upon  the  lad.  Now  I  know  that  thou  fearest 
God." 

"  The  Lord,  in  whose  sight  I  walk,  will 
send  His  angel  with  thee  and  will  direct  thy 
way.** 

"  Behold  I  send  my  angel  before  thee,  to 
keep  thee  in  thy  journey  and  bring  thee  into 
the  place  which  I  have  prepared.  Take 
notice  of  him  :  hear  his  voice,  and  do  not 
think  him  one  to  be  contemned  ;  for  he  will 
not  forgive  when  thou  hast  sinned,  and  My 
name  is  in  him." 

"  The  angel  of  the  Lord  went  down  with 
Azariah  and  his  companions  into  the  furnace; 
and  he  drove  the  flame  of  the  fire  out  of  the 
furnace  and  made  the  midst  of  the  furnace 
like  the  blowing  of  a  wind  bringing  dew." 
63 


The  Guardian  Angels 


"  My  God  hath  sent  His  angel  and  hath 
shut  up  the  mouths  of  the  lions,  and  they 
have  not  hurt  me." 

"  I  beheld  till  thrones  were  placed,  and 
the  Ancient  of  days  sat;  thousands  of  thou- 
sands ministered  to  Him  :  and  ten  thousand 
times  a  hundred  thousand  stood  before  Him." 

"  For  He  hath  given  His  angels  charge 
over  thee ;  to  keep  thee  in  all  thy  vi^ays.  In 
their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee  up,  lest  thou 
dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone." 

"  See  that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little 
ones ;  for  I  say  unto  you  that  their  angels  in 
heaven  always  see  the  face  of  My  Father 
who  is  in  heaven." 

Thus  from  Abraham  to  the  Gospels,  and 
in  the  very  words  of  our  Lord  Himself, 
through  narrative,  prophecy,  psalm,  comes 
the  same  gentle  but  strong  assurance  of  those 
guardian  spirits  given  to  us  by  Almighty 
God,  our  Creator  and  theirs,  to  be  our  pro- 
tectors amid  all  the  dangers  of  this  mortal 
life, —  an  assurance  which,  like  some  tender 
chord  running  through  an  oratorio,  a  sym- 
phony, is  heard  amid  the  tremors  of  appre- 
64 


The  Guardian  Angels 


hension,  the  crash  of  calamity,  the  wail  of 
anguish,  strengthening  the  courage  for  endur- 
ance, reviving  hope,  saving  from  despair. 

These  quotations  v^hich  vi^e  have  given 
from  the  Holy  Scriptures  have  been  culled 
and  woven  as  lessons,  antiphons,  and  respon- 
sories  into  the  Office  for  the  Feast  of  the 
Holy  Guardian  Angels ;  while  the  Introit 
for  the  Mass  on  this  feast  is  that  burst  of 
praise  from  the  heart  of  Israel's  psalmist : 

"  Bless  the  Lord,  all  ye  His  angels ;  ye 
that  are  mighty  in  strength  and  execute  His 
word,  hearkening  to  the  voice  of  His  orders. 
Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul:  and  let  all  that 
is  within  me  bless  His  holy  name." 

As  a  sentiment,  this  idea  of  angelic  pro- 
tectors is  universal ;  as  a  belief,  a  positive 
dogma,  it  is  often  hardly  more  than  nominal, 
and  would  seem  to  be  held  only  in  regard 
to  little  children  or  to  the  young ;  taking 
literally  the  words  of  our  Lord,  which,  if 
actually  pondered  upon,  imply  an  individual 
guardianship  more  personal  than  anything  ex- 
pressed by  patriarch,  prophet,  or  psalmist.  It 
is  this  individual,  personal  relation  between 
65 


The  Guardian  Angels 


each  child  of  Adam  and  its  guardian  angel 
which  is  exemplified  in  the  lives  of  the  saints 
almost  universally,  and  accentuated  in  several 
in  a  way  to  delight  the  artist,  and  bring  out 
the  poetical  grace  of  lives  which  were,  under 
other  aspects,  almost  awful  in  their  super- 
natural sublimity.  Let  us  consult  the  great 
theologians,  such  as  Saint  Basil,  Saint  John 
Chrysostom,  Saint  Jerome,  Saint  Anselm, 
Saint  Bernard,  Saint  Thomas  of  Aquin, — 
"  the  Angelical,"  so  called  because  he  seemed 
to  have  taken  his  place,  even  while  on  earth, 
among  those  choirs  which  do  always  behold 
the  face  of  the  Father,  who  have  ever  before 
them  the  Beatific  Vision. 

Without  giving  separately  and  verbally  all 
these  authorities,  let  us  sum  up  their  united 
testimony  coming  down  through  the  ages  in 
a  paean  of  praise,  of  adoration  to  Him  who 
has  made  these  shining  creations  ministering 
spirits  to  those,  primarily,  only  a  little  lower 
than  the  angels,  but  whose  fall,  through 
Adam,  necessitated,  for  their  restoration,  the 
tragedy  of  Redemption, 

Before  the  mother  knew  that  another  im- 
66 


The  Guardian  Angels 


mortal  soul  had  been  created,  had  been  com- 
mitted to  her  care,  to  take  flesh  of  her  flesh, 
to  be  clothed  by  her  with  a  body,  which, 
mortal  as  it  must  be,  is  to  rise  again  united 
to  its  own  soul  as  an  undying  existence, —  at 
the  very  moment  of  this  miracle  of  concep- 
tion—  a  miracle  still,  though  every  hour 
and  moment  enacted  the  world  over, —  at 
this  very  moment,  unconscious  as  the  mother 
may  have  been,  one  of  the  shining  angels  be- 
fore the  throne  of  God  was  deputed  to  be  the 
guardian  of  this  newly  created  soul,  its  pro- 
tector until  its  birth ;  its  protector  during  its 
infancy,  its  youth,  its  manhood  or  woman- 
hood ;  from  which  no  circumstance  in  life 
could  separate  it ;  no  temptation,  not  even 
sin;  protecting  it  against  evil  spirits  at  the 
hour  of  death  ;  defending  it  against  malicious 
accusers  at  the  bar  of  judgment ;  consoling  it 
amid  the  pains  of  purgatory.  One  place  only 
this  faithful  guardian  does  not  enter,  one 
anguish  only  is  it  not  allowed  to  mitigate ; 
the  gate  which  closes  upon  the  sinner  con- 
demned to  everlasting  punishment  being  the 
only  one  which  closes  upon  the  guardian 
67 


The  Guardian  Angels 

angel,  while  it  joyfully  conducts  its  charge  to 
paradise  itself  and  its  everlasting  joys,  the 
friend,  the  companion  of  the  beloved  soul 
through  all  the  cycles  of  eternity. 

Such  is  the  testimony  of  the  Fathers  to 
the  office,  and  the  fidelity  to  this  office,  of 
the  Guardian  Angels.  Who  of  us  can  hear 
this  testimony  and  not  tremble  at  the  thought 
of  injuring  this  precious  soul  in  charge  of 
one  of  God's  holy  angels,  of  defrauding  it  of 
one  grace,  one  joy,  promised  to  Christ's  little 
ones?  Who,  seeing  it  in  peril,  w^ould  not 
stretch  out  a  hand  to  save  it,  to  bring  it  to 
baptism,  to  assist  it,  helpless  amid  dangers  ? 
Or  who,  as  time  goes  on,  will  dare  to  put  a 
temptation  before  this  soul,  at  whose  side 
stands,  in  all  the  plenitude  of  celestial  grace, 
in  all  the  splendor  of  its  angelic  personality, 
its  heaven-appointed  guardian? 

One  fact  is  emphasized  by  these  grand 
Fathers,  these  expounders  of  the  sacred  text, 
these  interpreters  of  dogma.  While  Saint 
Thomas  declares  that  each  soul  has  its  in- 
dividual guardian,  shared  with  no  other,  all 
declare  that,  although  the  guardian  angel  may 
68 


MURILLO 

SAINT  JOHN  OF  GOD 


The  Guardian  Angels 


hide  its  face  from  the  sin,  it  never  leaves  the 
sinner,  the  reprobate,  until  the  final  judg- 
ment; each  soul  having  to  answer  for  the 
use  made  of  the  graces,  above  all  the  oppor- 
tunities for  repentance,  provided  by  its  guard- 
ian angel. 

Having  thus  summed  up  the  dogma  con- 
cerning the  guardian  angels,  let  us  see  if  art 
has  been  its  faithful  exponent,  for  this  Chris- 
tian Art  must  be,  if  true  to  its  vocation. 

In  his  "  Madonna  with  the  Fish,"  as  it  is 
called,  one  of  the  treasures  of  the  Museum 
of  Madrid,  "  in  which,"  as  has  been  said, 
"  Christian  poetry  finds  its  highest  expres- 
sion," Raphael  has  introduced  the  young 
Tobias,  with  his  angelic  guide,  Saint  Ra- 
phael, Archangel,  under  his  title  of  "  Prince 
of  the  Guardian  Angels,"  their  representative 
at  the  court  of  heaven ;  and  never  were  the 
special  attributes  of  the  guardian  angel  more 
charmingly  portrayed.  How  earnestly  he 
presents  his  kneeling  charge  to  the  Divine 
Child  in  the  arms  of  His  Mother!  How 
tenderly  one  hand  supports  the  youthful 
figure,  abashed  before  the  Queen  of  Heaven, 
69 


The  Guardian  Angels 


the  other  holding  his  hand  encouragingly ! 
How  earnestly  he  is  pleading  the  cause  of 
his  young  charge,  telling  the  story  of  the 
great  fish  which  Tobias,  at  his  command, 
took  so  courageously  by  the  gill,  bringing  it 
to  land ;  the  use  made  of  the  gall  to  free 
the  innocent  Sara  from  the  spells  of  a  demon; 
the  cure  wrought  by  it  on  the  blinded  eyes  of 
his  father,  the  patriarch  of  the  captivity ! 

One  can  hear  the  story  told  by  those  elo- 
quent lips,  those  beseeching  eyes;  and  how 
the  child  almost  springs  from  His  Mother's 
arms  to  embrace  this  youth  commended  to 
Him  by  His  beloved  Archangel,  who  had,  at 
His  own  command,  set  forth  on  this  journey, 
brought  all  things  to  pass  so  happily  by  his 
zeal  and  angelic  wisdom;  and  has  now  come 
to  present  to  Him,  under  such  a  winning  guise, 
the  only  son  of  an  aged  father  and  mother, 
the  husband  of  a  young  wife,  for  the  highest 
benediction  of  Heaven !  This  personification 
of  the  guardian  angel,  we  can  not  but  feel 
sure,  was  a  most  amiable  expression  of  the 
love  felt  by  the  artist  himself  for  his  own 
guardian  angel  and  for  Saint  Raphael,  whose 
70 


ITTENBACH 


SAINT  FRANCES  OF  ROME 


The  Guardian  Angels 


name  he  had  been  privileged  to  bear  by  that 
most  reverent  and  ideal  of  fathers,  Giovanni 
Sanzio. 

At  Seville,  where  the  piety  of  Murillo 
proved  to  be  the  inspiration  of  his  genius,  we 
find  Saint  John  of  God  represented  with  his 
guardian  angel,  on  whom  he  had  called  in  a 
dire  strait  of  charity.  This  John  of  God,  so 
called  by  the  Bishop  of  Tuy,  was  the  uncon- 
scious founder  of  the  Order  of  Hospital 
Brothers,  now  spread  throughout  the  Chris- 
tian world ;  who  took,  in  the  spirit  of  obedi- 
ence, the  habit  prescribed  to  him  by  this 
Bishop,  although  the  rules  which  were  bind- 
ing on  his  order  were  not  drawn  up  until  six 
years  after  his  death.  His  life  after  his  con- 
version was  a  life  of  miracles. 

One  night,  as  he  was  carrying  on  his  back 
a  dying  man  to  his  hospital,  his  strength 
failed  and  he  sank  to  the  ground  with  his 
helpless  burden.  There  was  but  one  source 
of  strength  for  our  John  of  God ;  and  his 
sigh  as  he  fell  to  the  ground  was  to  his  angel 
guardian.  Instantly  the  help  came  ;  and  we 
see  John,  still  on  his  knees,  still  on  his 
71 


The  Guardian  Angels 


shoulders  the  dying  man,  looking  up  into  the 
face  of  the  mighty  angel  with  his  long  wings, 
whose  hand  is  to  raise  John  and  his  burden 
as  one  raises  a  child  who  has  tottered  and 
fallen. 

There  are  two  lovely  pictures  from  the 
modern  German  school  which  we  cannot 
pass  over.  One  gives  us  Saint  Frances  of 
Rome,  who  for  years  was  privileged  to  see 
and  converse  with  her  guardian  angel.  The 
Roman  matron  stands  mantled  from  head  to 
feet,  the  folds  held  by  one  hand,  the  other 
hand  carrying  the  scourge  with  which  she 
disciplines  her  flesh,  besides  practicing  so 
many  other  mortifications  from  which  we 
shrink.  Her  face,  grand,  serious,  in  deep 
shadow,  turned  toward  the  shining  angel  at 
her  side,  receiving  his  instructions,  guided  by 
his  counsels  ;  while  his  eyes  are  lifted  heaven- 
ward, as  if  from  thence  he  derived  all  wisdom 
and  grace.  This  simple  but  eloquent  com- 
position is  by  Ittenbach.  The  second  is  by 
Mintrop,  whose  angels  are  always  most  win- 
ning. This  charming  conception  gives  us 
the  guardian  angel  snatching  up  his  infant 
72 


MINTROP 

GUARDIAN  ANGEL 


The  Guardian  Angels 


charge  and  carrying  him  safely  over  a  treach- 
erous stream,  into  which  he  was  in  danger  of 
falling;  the  frightened  little  one  still  clutch- 
ing in  his  hand  the  flowers  gathered  on  its 
edge. 

But  the  eye  of  no  one  of  our  readers  would 
be  filled  or  any  one  heart  satisfied  if  we  did 
not  put  before  it,  not  Fra  Angelico's  groups 
in  any  one  of  his  Coronations,  but  that  tender- 
est  of  all  representations  of  guardian  angels 
which  he  gives  us  in  his  Last  Judgment, 
painted  for  the  "  Hermits,"  as  they  were 
called, "  of  the  Camaldoli," —  an  order  whose 
life  was  one  of  meditation,  and  to  whom  the 
most  mystical  of  the  Angelical's  imaginings 
would  come  with  all  the  force  which  they 
had  to  his  own  mind. 

We  shall  not  describe  the  whole  picture, 
only  that  part  which  relates  to  our  subject. 
The  Judge  of  the  quick  and  dead  has  given 
His  sentence  to  all  who,  having  heard  the 
trump  of  doom,  have  left  vacant  the  graves 
occupied  for  thousands  of  years.  Mary,  who 
has  heard  all  the  sentences  for  weal  and  for 
woe;  patriarchs,  apostles,  founders  of  reli- 
73 


The  Guardian  Angels 


gious  orders  —  among  them  Saint  Benedict, 
Saint  Dominic,  Saint  Francis, —  have  heard 
the  sentences  also,  sitting  on  their  seats  of 
judgment,  bearing  lilies  in  their  hands.  The 
condemned  of  every  rank  and  condition  are 
being  led  away ;  but  on  the  right-hand  side 
of  the  Judge  we  see  what  gives  us  a  least 
possible  glimpse  of  the  joy  of  those  to  whom 
He  has  said :  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  My 
Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world  !  "  Faces 
are  lifted  which  have  looked  on  the  face  of 
God  —  of  God  sitting  in  judgment, —  and 
yet  rejoice,  as  it  is  given  in  the  old  Breviary 
hymn  : 

Set  in  the  light  of  Thy  pure  gaze 
And  yet  rejoice  in  Thee,  — 

faces  so  blissful  that  we  seem  never  before  to 
have  beheld  happiness, —  the  happiness  full 
of  gratitude,  brimming  with  thanksgiving, 
radiant  with  praise.  Never,  we  believe,  have 
such  blissful  countenances  been  limned  as 
these,  looking  full  into  the  face  of  Him  who 
redeemed  them  by  His  blood,  sanctified  them 
by  His  grace,  has  at  the  last  judged  them  and 
74 


s 

The  Guardian  Angels 

fixed  them  securely  in  a  state  of  eternal  hap- 
piness. 

But  another  phase  of  this  joyful  story 
comes  to  the  understanding.  Some  are  turn- 
ing, as  if  under  an  irresistible  inspiration  to 
meet  —  oh!  what  welcomes  from  outstretched 
hands,  from  glowing  faces!  They  are  met 
eye  to  eye,  hand  to  hand,  by  their  own  angel 
guardians,  wishing  them  joy,  joining  in  their 
hymns  of  praise,  and  even  reassuring  some 
timid  souls  who  cannot  yet  believe  that, 
after  all  their  shortcomings,  their  mortal 
blunders  and  weaknesses,  they  are  actually 
saved  —  actually  on  the  threshold  of  heaven. 

Nothing  can  be  more  touching  than  these 
groups.  Eager  hands  are  stretched  over  the 
shoulders  of  those  who  stand  between  the 
angels  and  their  lifelong  charges ;  others 
tenderly  embrace  them,  in  their  gladness  that 
all  is  well ;  while,  in  one,  both  ransomed 
soul  and  angel  kneel,  folded  in  each  other's 
arms ;  and  we  feel  that  tears  are  falling  on  the 
shoulder  of  the  angel  who  has  stood  so  faith- 
fully by  a  sorely  tried  son  of  Adam,  who  has 
been  a  witness  to  his  temptations,  perhaps  to 
75 


The  Guardian  Angels 

his  many  falls  ;  but  a  witness  also  to  his  con- 
trition and  his  final  triumph  over  evil. 

All  this  fills  a  certain  part  of  the  compo- 
sition. But  from  these  groups  pass,  in  pairs 
of  an  angel  and  a  soul, — each  angel  w^inged, 
each  soul  crowned  with  a  wreath  of  eternal 
bloom  ;  hand  in  hand,  pair  joined  to  pair ; 
and  we  see  the  feet  gliding,  in  that  mystic 
dance  which  Fra  Angelico  loved,  to  music 
breathed  forth  in  softest  harmonies,  most  en- 
chanting melodies,  over  meadows  enameled 
with  every  gentle  flower  of  spring.  Then 
higher,  higher  pass  the  happy  pairs,  angels 
and  souls,  in  waving  lines  of  grace  and  beauty; 
until,  under  a  sudden  impulse,  angels  and 
souls  dart  into  the  heavenly  radiance  stream- 
ing down  upon  them  from  the  open  gates  of 
paradise  ;  and  we  know  they  are  forever  and 
forever  before  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the 
Lamb ;  that  they  are  under  the  brooding 
wings  of  the  Eternal  Dove,  that  Mary  and 
all  saints  and  all  angels  are  now  their  com- 
panions in  bliss. 

Lingering,  as  we  cannot  help  doing,  over 
these  delineations  of  angels  and  archangels 
76 


The  Guardian  Angels 

which  we  have  cited,  embodying  the  tra- 
dition, belief,  sentiment,  of  more  than  six 
thousand  years  at  the  hands  of  Christian 
artists  from  the  first  age  of  Christianity  to 
this  last  year  of  our  present  century,  can  we 
not  say  with  truth  that  art  has  been  faithful 
to  her  trust? — taking  her  part  in  Christian 
civilization  not  merely  as  an  adornment,  but 
as  a  mighty  factor  in  the  uplifting  of  the  in- 
tellect, the  heart,  the  imagination  of  the 
world;  a  veritable  bulwark  of  dogma  by  the 
testimony  given  from  age  to  age  through  its 
monuments,  as  well  as  a  never-failing  incen- 
tive to  devotion ;  inspiring  us  to  unite  our 
voices  with  that  of  the  Church  in  her  choirs : 
"  Bless  the  Lord,  all  ye  His  angels ;  ye  that 
are  mighty  in  strength  and  execute  His  word, 
hearkening  to  the  voice  of  His  orders.  Bless 
the  Lord,  all  ye  His  hosts,  ye  ministers  that 
do  His  will.  O  my  soul,  bless  thou  the 
Lord!" 


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